I am not sure which thread this goes in so I decided to start one. Perhaps we should propose to BW that each spring and/or fall they conduct a service weekend. We do the same thing at Storer. Guess who puts it all together each spring and fall?? ME!!! Anyway, the weekend at Storer is structured with social time friday night, work all day saturday, camp activities in the evening, work until lunch on sunday, then go home. There is a youth component and an adult one. Adults live in one area of camp and do projects appropriate for adults. The youth are the same way. A list of projects is given to me by the maintenance department and other departments like Equestrian and Outdoor Ed. We recruit current staff from our OEE and summer programs to stay in cabins with the high school aged youth. It is a great social weekend and much needed work gets done. Did I mention the weekend is FREE and each volunteer and staff member receive a FREE t-shirt?? HAHA, I am actually wearing one of those T's now!
I think we should sell the current administration on doing a fall and/or spring volunteer weekend. If BW needs help getting something like that off the ground, I can offer some advice to JR, Shane, or anyone else who might be responsible for planning a volunteer weekend. I think naming the weekend "Call of the Woods" is marketing genius.
For our purposes, I think we should focus our energies on planning a reunion weekend at BW, Austin Texas, at the top of a pamper platform, or anywhere that as many of us as possible could attend.
Ok, I am done now....back to playing Settlers of Catan and drinking "special" fruit smoothies.
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2 comments:
this is a great idea! i mean, they already have an infrastructure to set things like this up, we all want to help but also want to hang out with one another... why don't we help them get it set up and take part in it?
good thoughts. i dig 'em.
I had an opportunity to speak with JR for a little bit yesterday, and will post more details to that later today when I have time, but a few thoughts...
1.) Service Weekend - I think that this would be great to see come to a head, but this would most definitely have to be something that BW impliments, and not us. One of JR's current projects is to compile databases on past staff, campers, and groups that have spent time at BW in order to create community awareness, generate interest in capital improvements, and to share info on events like service weekends. They (BW) have started working with large groups doing massive service days, as many organizations in more recent days have been giving back to the community they are based in by doing service projects.
2.) FREE weekend at the Woods - Not to be a dullard on this, but I don't think this is really realistic for the Woods. We would really need to do some amazing work to get a free ride (my opinion). Though both BW and the YMCA are non-profits, both have completely different business models and approaches to their staff. The Y (or at least mine) is majorly reliant on donations and volunteerism, where BW will accept them, as being part of IU, they are prone to having to put up with all of the red tape stipulations we know and love. Of course, Becca also shared with me that BW would always make exceptions for groups and individuals, so who knows.
3.)Our purpose - I had to go back and reread everything so far, but as far as I can tell, we don't have a purpose. I know that we have an idea of what it is that we would like to do, but as of right now, we also don't even know who "us" really is. I am going to take the liberty to make some assumptions and run with it in another thread, feel free to ammend and challenge points as you see fit to better define what it is that we are. This will take the "WIU Challenge by Choice" approach to the process.
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